Power steering problem
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 312
Likes: 6
From: Troy Al
Power steering problem
I'm still struggling w/ what appears to be air in the line, on the PS system. This is a new pump. with the cap removed, and the engine running it really bubbles and churns about. So much so that a run down the road produces enough rpm's to get fluid all over the bottom of the resevour. If I release the pressure by taking the cap off, then let it sit overnight, no churning when I crank it the next day, until I start turning the rack. I've turned it from rack to rack, the wheels jacked up, wheels down many times. Yesterday I broke the line loose at the cooler. Fill the resivor, crank it and let it run for about 1 sec. I ran 2 quarts thru it. I had no helper to crank while I observed. Still no help. What about the rack? Has anyone ever had one go out? What are the symptoms?
I'm about at the end of my patence. Any Ideas thoughts or suggestions appreciated.
I'm about at the end of my patence. Any Ideas thoughts or suggestions appreciated.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,853
Likes: 8
From: Westerly RI
What year is your car? There should not be pressure in the reservoir. FWIW, GM wants you to purge the system with the engine not running first. Front wheels off the ground, engine off, turn wheels from side to side several times and monitor fluid level.
Could your new pump be defective?
Could your new pump be defective?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,858
Likes: 7
From: Santa Maria CA
Why was the pump replaced in the first place? What was the old pump doing? Who replaced it?
Someone brought me a car with a similar issue after they had their PS pump replaced at a local shop. 3 days later it started to make tons of noise and a bunch of air bubbles in the reservoir even though every connection was tight and the pump was new and no leaks. No ammount of bleeding would stop the noise or bubbles. I discovered that the idiot(s) who replaced the pump before me failed to flush out all the old fluid from the rest of the unit (hoses reservoir and rack) before installing the new pump which is what you should do whenever you replace a rack or pump. All they did was pull the old pump out and slap the new one in. All the crap in the old fluid from the failed pump left in the system contaminated the new pump and ruined it.
I installed a new pump after first flushing out all traces of old fluid in the rest of the system. To avoid a dry start on the PS pump I like to prefill the PS pump with new clean fluid on a bench and prime it by spinning the pulley by hand with new fluid in it. This just ensures the pump doesn't get a dry start.
Someone brought me a car with a similar issue after they had their PS pump replaced at a local shop. 3 days later it started to make tons of noise and a bunch of air bubbles in the reservoir even though every connection was tight and the pump was new and no leaks. No ammount of bleeding would stop the noise or bubbles. I discovered that the idiot(s) who replaced the pump before me failed to flush out all the old fluid from the rest of the unit (hoses reservoir and rack) before installing the new pump which is what you should do whenever you replace a rack or pump. All they did was pull the old pump out and slap the new one in. All the crap in the old fluid from the failed pump left in the system contaminated the new pump and ruined it.
I installed a new pump after first flushing out all traces of old fluid in the rest of the system. To avoid a dry start on the PS pump I like to prefill the PS pump with new clean fluid on a bench and prime it by spinning the pulley by hand with new fluid in it. This just ensures the pump doesn't get a dry start.
Last edited by 86PACER; Dec 22, 2010 at 06:04 PM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 312
Likes: 6
From: Troy Al
My car is a 93 Coupe. Cooler was damaged and replaced with an after market. Not a good idea. I believe that's what made the original PS pump go out. went back to an original cooler of another '93. It took a couple of days driving around , but it picked up. About a month later it locked up solid. Carried it back to Advance and got a replacement. That's whats on the car now. Fluid is clean and new. I did drain the system the day I broke the hose loose from the cooler and ran 2 quarts thru it. I don't want to face the reality of a 2nd bad pumd from Advance, but it;s possable.
